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Aberystwyth Arts CentreLightspeed From Pembroke DockSaturday 28 April

The Force is strong at Aberystwyth Arts Centre this Spring!

Contemporary theatre fans and Star Wars aficionados alike can look forward to Mark Williams's new play inspired by Wales's claim to Star Wars fame which will be at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Saturday 28 April.

Lightspeed From Pembroke Dock is a co - production between Wales’s acclaimed new writing company, Dirty Protest, Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff and the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven.

The drama is inspired by the real-life 1979 construction in Pembroke Dock shipyard of the full-size Millennium Falcon spaceship, helmed by Harrison Ford's Han Solo in the film 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back'.

Incredibly, far from being from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away; the ship featured in the second film in the Star Wars saga was constructed by a small army of tradesmen in the Pembrokeshire town’s Western Hangar. All were sworn to secrecy as the ship came together far from prying eyes.

This production is set in Pembroke Dock in 1979 and 2014; our hero Sam is a Star Wars obsessed teen in 1979 and a single father in 2014. His father is a redundant shipwright, employed to build the Millennium Falcon. When Sam discovers that the Millennium Falcon is being built in his home town, his life is turned upside down. Determined to get inside the cockpit; his only obstacle is his stepdad Mike, guardian of the secret hangar where the legendary ship is being built in Pembroke Dock. Fast forward to 2014, Sam’s daughter Lizzie goes missing, forcing him into a desperate hunt to bring her back to safety before it’s too late.

Pembrokeshire born writer Mark Williams said:

“In 1979, I was too young to be aware of the rumours that the Millennium Falcon was being built on my doorstep in Pembrokeshire. Learning about it later, it felt almost too amazing to be true. The thought of actually getting to see it – what that would mean to someone of Sam’s age, and how that might shape his life – was what first inspired Lightspeed. Some of my earliest memories are of seeing the Star Wars films for the first time. They continue to influence everything I write, in countless ways. For all their incredible effects and thrilling pace, at heart the Star Wars films have always been about underdogs and unlikely allies overcoming the odds stacked against them - stories of family, friendship, and hope”.

Now, Dirty Protest brings Mark’s story to the stage in a production that combines the thrill of 1980’s adventure movies with an intergenerational family saga all of its own.

Lightspeed From Pembroke Dock explores what happens when Hollywood’s best-loved spaceship lands on your doorstep. The production is a story of hope, courage, and how to be a family when it seems the universe is against you.

Tickets are available from the Arts Centre Box Office on 01970 62 32 32 or online at www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk